New Zealand Ambassador Pays Courtesy Call on Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (left) receives New Zealand Ambassador Peter Francis Tavita Kell (right) at the DFA Main Office on 20 August 2020.

PASAY CITY 21 August 2020 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. received New Zealand Ambassador Peter Francis Tavita Kell today at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for a stock-take of bilateral cooperation priorities and other topics of mutual importance between the two countries. 

Secretary Locsin and Ambassador Kell touched on key issues including cooperation in defense, trade, development, and people-to-people relations, as well as regional and multilateral developments involving peace and stability.

Both sides also shared experiences in combatting COVID-19, comparing notes on areas of successes, and remaining challenges. Ambassador Kell conveyed New Zealand’s support for the Philippine government’s measures to contain the health emergency.

The Secretary convey appreciation for New Zealand’s COVID-19 assistance of NZD 2 million (~PHP 64,259,000) prioritizing vulnerable communities in Mindanao, channeled through the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Ambassador Kell, meanwhile, expressed gratitude for the assistance of the DFA and other Philippine agencies in the repatriation of over 500 New Zealand nationals since the imposition of the community quarantine in the country. 

Both sides reaffirmed their governments’ commitment to further elevating overall ties and cooperation. END

Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin (left) welcomes NZ Ambassador Kell (right) with the “elbow bump” greeting of the new normal.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin is joined by Foreign Affairs Asian and Pacific Affairs Executive Director Josel F. Ignacio and Pacific Division Director Jan Sherwin P. Wenceslao, while Ambassador Kell is accompanied by New Zealand Aid Manager Dyan Rodriguez.